About

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Joao M. Souto-Maior
Postdoctoral associate
New York University
CV

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Welcome to my website!

I am a postdoctoral associate in the Institute of Human Development and Social Change at the New York University. From September 2024, I will be a postdoctoral scholar (New Map of Life Fellow) in the Stanford Center on Longevity.

I study educational organizations and how different organizational practices/decisions contribute to (or mitigate) the social stratification of educational opportunities across class and race lines. Central to my research is the use of innovative computational approaches—such as agent-based modeling and machine learning—to address questions which have imposed methodological challenges to traditional techniques.

So far, my work has focused on K-12 education. Past and ongoing research examines how practices such curriculum differentiation and special education identification shape educational inequalities. In the following years, as postdoc at Stanford, I will work with Professor Mitchell Stevens researching how higher education institutions (together with other organizations such as firms and non-profits) can better serve the educational needs of adult/working learners.

I am originally from São Paulo, Brazil. I hold a Ph.D. in Sociology of Education from the New York University (2023) and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2017).

Please navigate across the pages to learn about my research; teaching; and to access selected resources.

Areas of Research

Organizations
Education policy
Racial inequality
Computational methods

Education

Ph.D. Sociology of Education, New York University. 2023.
M.Phil. Sociology of Education, New York University. 2021.
B.A. Economics with mathematical emphasis, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2017.

Note

For research/publication purposes, I hyphenate my last name: Souto-Maior.

Research

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Peer-reviewed publications

Differences in academic preparedness do not fully explain Black-White enrollment disparities in advanced high school coursework
Joao Souto-Maior and Ravi Shroff. Sociological Science (2024).

Papers under review

The presence of White students and the emergence of Black-White within-school inequalities: two interaction-based mechanisms
Joao Souto-Maior. Revise and Resubmit.

Hoarding without hoarders: unpacking the emergence of opportunity hoarding within schools
Joao Souto-Maior. Revise and Resubmit.

Critical appraisal of the evidence on racial disproportionality in special education
Rachel Fish, Kenneth Shores and Joao Souto-Maior. Revise and Resubmit.

Teaching

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Laboratory instructor

Undergraduate basic statistics
New York University — from Spring 2019 to Spring 2021

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Teaching assistant

Introduction to US education: historical and contemporary perspectives
New York University — Fall 2022

Political economy of education: why does college cost so much?
New York University — Fall 2022

Qualitative methods in international education
New York University — Spring 2022

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Seminar leader

URS seminar: research, creative work and the public good
University of Wisconsin-Madison — 2016-17

URS seminar: research and creative work at the boundaries
University of Wisconsin-Madison — 2015-16

Resources

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PhD study

PhD dissertation
Essays on the dynamics of Black-White advanced course-taking inequalities

PhD coursework
Areas of concentration: school organization; quantitative methods.

Comprehensive oral exam

Independent study: Black-White within-school achievement gaps

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Tools for interactive visualizations

A dashboard of inequality in Sao Paulo high schools

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New books network (NBN) podcast

Host of new books in education

  Website last updated on July 15, 2024